Screenshot via WPLG Local 10/YouTube
Audio By Carbonatix
A Sunny Isles Beach commission candidate was jailed on August 4 after a coffee meetup quickly turned into a coffee beatdown.
On Sunday, 59-year-old George Bardmesser was campaigning at El Tropico Cuban Cuisine in Sunny Isles when a verbal altercation allegedly descended into him attacking two teenagers – putting one in a chokehold and striking another in the face, according to police.
“Before there was an issue with the other party coming in and, you know, ‘You can’t be here, you gotta get out,'” restaurant owner Pedro Vera told WSVN. “Next thing you know, he’s grabbing one of the kids by the neck and then punching another one.”
While it remains unclear what instigated the incident, the two teens were reportedly at the event with Sunny Isles commissioner Fabiola Stuyvesant.
Will you step up to support New Times this year?
At New Times, we’re small and scrappy — and we make the most of every dollar from our supporters. Right now, we’re $16,750 away from reaching our December 31 goal of $30,000. If you’ve ever learned something new, stayed informed, or felt more connected because of New Times, now’s the time to give back.
Stuyvesant has not responded to New Times’ request for comment.
Bardmesser, a Russian-American attorney and author, promoted the event on his Instagram as a “Republican Coffee Meet Up.” He wrote that he was “excited to meet and talk with voters about the future of our city.”
According to police, Bardmesser was sitting at a table in the restaurant when he got into a verbal altercation with political opponents sitting at a table adjacent to him. As the argument grew more heated, surveillance video allegedly captured Bardmesser shoving around the teenagers.
Following the incident, police arrived to the restaurant and arrested Bardmesser on two counts of child abuse without great bodily harm.
He appeared in court on Monday, where a judge set his bond at $5,000.
